historical fiction

14 03, 2024

A Grave Robbery (Veronica Speedwell #9)

A Grave Robbery (Veronica Speedwell #9)

Rachel2024-03-14T18:04:05-06:00March 14th, 2024|Tags: adult, ARC, Book Review, historical fiction, mystery|0 Comments

Rating: 5 ♥’s Published: March 12, 2024 Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery Pages: 336 Description: Veronica and Stoker discover that not all fairy tales have happy endings, and some end in murder, in this latest historical mystery from New York Times bestselling and Edgar Award–nominated author Deanna Raybourn. Lord Rosemorran has purchased a wax figure of a beautiful reclining woman and asks Stoker to incorporate a clockwork mechanism to give the Rosemorran Collection its own Sleeping Beauty in the style of Madame Tussaud’s. But when Stoker goes to cut the mannequin open to insert the mechanism, he makes a gruesome discovery: this is no wax figure. The mannequin is the beautifully preserved body of a young woman who was once very much alive. But who would do such a dreadful thing, and why? Sleuthing out the answer to this question sets Veronica and Stoker on their wildest adventure yet. From the underground laboratories of scientists experimenting with electricity to resurrect the dead in the vein of Frankenstein to the traveling show where Stoker once toured as an attraction, the gaslit atmosphere of London in October is the perfect setting for this investigation into the unknown. [...]

7 03, 2023

A Sinister Revenge (Veronica Speedwell #8)

A Sinister Revenge (Veronica Speedwell #8)

Rachel2023-03-07T14:22:00-07:00March 7th, 2023|Tags: adult, ARC, Book Review, historical fiction, mystery|0 Comments

Rating: 5 ♥’s Published: March 7, 2022 Genre: Historical Fiction/Mystery Pages: 336 Description: Veronica must find and stop a devious killer when a group of old friends is targeted for death in this new adventure from the New York Times bestselling and Edgar Award–nominated author Deanna Raybourn. Veronica’s natural-historian beau, Stoker, has been away in Bavaria for months and their relationship is at an impasse. But when Veronica shows up before him with his brother, Tiberius, Lord Templeton-Vane, he is lured back home by an intriguing job offer: preparing an iguanodon for a very special dinner party. Tiberius has received a cryptic message—along with the obituaries of two recently deceased members of his old group of friends, the Seven Sinners—that he too should get his affairs in order. Realizing he is in grave danger but not knowing why, he plans a reunion party for the remaining Sinners at his family estate to lure the killer out while Veronica and Stoker investigate. As the guests arrive and settle in, the evening’s events turn deadly. More clues come to light, leading Veronica, Stoker, and Tiberius to uncover a shared past among the Sinners that [...]

20 02, 2023

The Lost Apothecary

The Lost Apothecary

Rachel2023-02-20T16:01:14-07:00February 20th, 2023|Tags: adult, ARC, Book Review, historical fiction|0 Comments

Rating: 3 ♥’s Published: March 2, 2021 Genre: Historical Fiction Pages: 301 Description: A female apothecary secretly dispenses poisons to liberate women from the men who have wronged them - setting three lives across centuries on a dangerous collision course. Rule #1: The poison must never be used to harm another woman. Rule #2: The names of the murderer and her victim must be recorded in the apothecary’s register. One cold February evening in 1791, at the back of a dark London alley in a hidden apothecary shop, Nella awaits her newest customer. Once a respected healer, Nella now uses her knowledge for a darker purpose - selling well-disguised poisons to desperate women who would kill to be free of the men in their lives. But when her new patron turns out to be a precocious twelve-year-old named Eliza Fanning, an unexpected friendship sets in motion a string of events that jeopardizes Nella’s world and threatens to expose the many women whose names are written in her register. In present-day London, aspiring historian Caroline Parcewell spends her tenth wedding anniversary alone, reeling from the discovery of her husband’s infidelity. When she finds [...]

6 12, 2022

The Circus Train

The Circus Train

Rachel2022-12-06T17:01:39-07:00December 6th, 2022|Tags: adult, ARC, historical fiction|0 Comments

Rating: 4 ♥’s Published: December 6, 2022 Genre: Historical Fiction Pages: 352 Description: At the World of Wonders, Europe's most magnificent travelling circus, every moment is full of magic, and nothing is as it seems--especially for the people who put on the show Lena Papadopoulos has never quite found her place within the circus, even as the daughter of the extraordinary headlining illusionist, Theo. Brilliant and curious, Lena yearns for the real-world magic of science and medicine, despite her father's overprotection and the limits her world places on her because she is disabled. Her unconventional life takes an exciting turn when she rescues Alexandre, an orphan with his own secrets and a mysterious past. Over several years, as their friendship flourishes and Alexandre trains as the illusionist's apprentice, World War II escalates around them. When Theo and Alexandre are contracted to work and perform in a model town for Jews set up by the Nazis, Lena becomes separated from everything she knows. Forced to make her own way, Lena must confront her doubts and dare to believe in the impossible--herself. I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for [...]

20 09, 2022

The Witch and The Tsar

The Witch and The Tsar

Rachel2022-12-06T17:07:41-07:00September 20th, 2022|Tags: adult, ARC, Fantasy, historical fiction, Mythology, witches|0 Comments

Rating: 3 ♥’s Published: September 20, 2022 Genre: Fantasy/Historical Fiction Pages: 432 Description: As a half-goddess possessing magic, Yaga is used to living on her own, her prior entanglements with mortals having led to heartbreak. She mostly keeps to her hut in the woods, where those in need of healing seek her out, even as they spread rumors about her supposed cruelty and wicked spells. But when her old friend Anastasia—now the wife of the tsar, and suffering from a mysterious illness—arrives in her forest desperate for her protection, Yaga realizes the fate of all of Russia is tied to Anastasia’s. Yaga must step out of the shadows to protect the land she loves. As she travels to Moscow, Yaga witnesses a sixteenth century Russia on the brink of chaos. Tsar Ivan—soon to become Ivan the Terrible—grows more volatile and tyrannical by the day, and Yaga believes the tsaritsa is being poisoned by an unknown enemy. But what Yaga cannot know is that Ivan is being manipulated by powers far older and more fearsome than anyone can imagine. I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. When [...]

22 08, 2022

Portrait of a Scotsman (A League of Extraordinary Women #3)

Portrait of a Scotsman (A League of Extraordinary Women #3)

Rachel2022-08-22T17:50:26-06:00August 22nd, 2022|Tags: adult, Book of the Month, historical fiction, romance|0 Comments

Rating: 3 1/2 ♥’s Published: September 7, 2021 Genre: Romance/Historical Fiction Pages: 448 Book Description: London banking heiress Hattie Greenfield wanted "just" three things in life: 1. Acclaim as an artist. 2. A noble cause. 3. Marriage to a young lord who puts the gentle in gentleman. Why then does this Oxford scholar find herself at the altar with the darkly attractive financier Lucian Blackstone, whose murky past and ruthless business practices strike fear in the hearts of Britain's peerage? Trust Hattie to take an invigorating little adventure too far. Now she's stuck with a churlish Scot who just might be the end of her ambitions.... When the daughter of his business rival all but falls into his lap, Lucian sees opportunity. As a self-made man, he has vast wealth but holds little power, and Hattie might be the key to finally setting long-harbored political plans in motion. Driven by an old revenge, he has no room for his new wife's apprehensions or romantic notions, bewitching as he finds her. But a sudden journey to Scotland paints everything in a different light. Hattie slowly sees the real Lucian and realizes she could [...]

20 07, 2022

The Gilded Wolves (The Gilded Wolves #1)

The Gilded Wolves (The Gilded Wolves #1)

Rachel2022-07-20T18:34:38-06:00July 20th, 2022|Tags: Fantasy, historical fiction, young adult|0 Comments

Rating: 5 ♥'s | First off let me just start with I really like the cover of this book, I feel it is simplistic and yet really pretty at the same time. This was another book I had on my to-be-read list for a while and again so glad I finally read it. I really enjoyed it and it captured me right from the beginning.

7 06, 2022

A Botanist’s Guide to Parties and Poisons

A Botanist’s Guide to Parties and Poisons

Rachel2022-06-07T17:26:06-06:00June 7th, 2022|Tags: adult, ARC, Book Review, fiction, historical fiction, mystery, thriller|0 Comments

Rating: 3 1/2 ♥'s Published: June 7, 2022 Genre: Mystery/Historical Fiction Pages: 304 Book Description: Saffron Everleigh is in a race against time to free her wrongly accused professor before he goes behind bars forever. Perfect for fans of Deanna Raybourn and Anna Lee Huber, Kate Khavari’s debut historical mystery is a fast-paced, fearless adventure. London, 1923. Newly minted research assistant Saffron Everleigh attends a dinner party for the University College of London. While she expects to engage in conversations about the university's large expedition to the Amazon, she doesn’t expect Mrs. Henry, one of the professors’ wives to drop to the floor, poisoned by an unknown toxin. Dr. Maxwell, Saffron’s mentor, is the main suspect, having had an explosive argument with Dr. Henry a few days prior. As evidence mounts against Dr. Maxwell and the expedition's departure draws nearer, Saffron realizes if she wants her mentor's name cleared, she’ll have to do it herself. Joined by enigmatic Alexander Ashton, a fellow researcher, Saffron uses her knowledge of botany as she explores steamy greenhouses, dark gardens, and deadly poisons. Will she be able to uncover the truth or will her investigation land her on the [...]

7 04, 2022

The Curse of Morton Abbey

The Curse of Morton Abbey

Rachel2022-04-08T01:51:07-06:00April 7th, 2022|Tags: adult, ARC, Gothic, historical fiction, mystery|0 Comments

Rating: 4 ♥'s | This story intrigued me because I was in the mood for a good spooky mystery/gothic tale. I thought that it was an overall good read, however, I wanted it to be just a little more creepy and gothic...

30 03, 2022

An Impossible Imposter (Veronica Speedwell #7)

An Impossible Imposter (Veronica Speedwell #7)

Rachel2022-04-08T01:50:28-06:00March 30th, 2022|Tags: adult, ARC, fiction, historical fiction, mystery|0 Comments

Rating: 5 ♥'s | Well, Deanna Raybourn does it again! I had been eagerly anticipating this book since I finished the 6th because I am hooked on this series!

14 09, 2021

The Heiress Gets A Duke (The Gilded Age Heiresses #1)

The Heiress Gets A Duke (The Gilded Age Heiresses #1)

Rachel2022-04-08T01:56:49-06:00September 14th, 2021|Tags: ARC, Historial Romance, historical fiction, romance|0 Comments

Rating: 4 ♥'s | I was instantly hooked from the beginning of this book. I love that August sneaks into a boxing match and that she kisses the main contender (aka The Duke!).

23 06, 2021

Where the Crawdad Sings

Where the Crawdad Sings

Rachel2022-04-08T01:59:06-06:00June 23rd, 2021|Tags: adult, historical fiction, mystery|1 Comment

Rating: 4 ♥'s | This book was a lot of fun to read. I like that this was historical fiction and mystery but also just so much more to it. I loved how Kya learned all of this stuff about the environment and taught herself all of this stuff...

2 03, 2021

An Unexpected Peril (Veronica Speedwell #6)

An Unexpected Peril (Veronica Speedwell #6)

Rachel2022-04-08T01:59:26-06:00March 2nd, 2021|Tags: adult, ARC, historical fiction, mystery|0 Comments

Rating: 4 ♥'s | This book picks up right after Veronica and Stoker's most adventure and it doesn't take them long to be pulled into another one...well for Veronica to pull them into another one.

13 01, 2021

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue

Rachel2022-04-08T01:59:57-06:00January 13th, 2021|Tags: adult, Fantasy, historical fiction|0 Comments

Published: October 6, 2020 Genres: Fantasy, Historical Fiction Pages: 442 Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥ France, 1714: in a moment of desperation, a young woman makes a Faustian bargain to live forever and is cursed to be forgotten by everyone she meets. Thus begins the extraordinary life of Addie LaRue, and a dazzling adventure that will play out across centuries and continents, across history and art, as a young woman learns how far she will go to leave her mark on the world. But everything changes when, after nearly 300 years, Addie stumbles across a young man in a hidden bookstore and he remembers her name. I have been wanting to read this book for a while now and I finally got it at the library and it worked out well because it worked for a few of my prompts for my reading challenges! A lot of my friends have read it so I wanted to see what everyone else was talking about. It took me a bit to get into the book, I will admit. At first, I was not as into it and thought that it kind of drug on in the beginning. [...]

27 05, 2020

Bringing Down the Duke (A League of Extraordinary Women #1)

Bringing Down the Duke (A League of Extraordinary Women #1)

Rachel2020-05-27T10:22:58-06:00May 27th, 2020|Tags: adult, ARC, debut, historical fiction, romance|0 Comments

Book Description: England, 1879. Annabelle Archer, the brilliant but destitute daughter of a country vicar, has earned herself a place among the first cohort of female students at the renowned University of Oxford. In return for her scholarship, she must support the rising women's suffrage movement. Her charge: recruit men of influence to champion their cause. Her target: Sebastian Devereux, the cold and calculating Duke of Montgomery who steers Britain's politics at the Queen's command. Her challenge: not to give in to the powerful attraction she can't deny for the man who opposes everything she stands for. Sebastian is appalled to find a suffragist squad has infiltrated his ducal home, but the real threat is his impossible feelings for green-eyed beauty Annabelle. He is looking for a wife of equal standing to secure the legacy he has worked so hard to rebuild, not an outspoken commoner who could never be his duchess. But he wouldn't be the greatest strategist of the Kingdom if he couldn't claim this alluring bluestocking without the promise of a ring...or could he?Locked in a battle with rising passion and a will matching her own, Annabelle will [...]

24 04, 2020

Staging Love (Paranormal Historical #3)

Staging Love (Paranormal Historical #3)

Rachel2020-04-24T19:24:18-06:00April 24th, 2020|Tags: ARC, historical fiction, romance|0 Comments

Published: 3/2/3013Genre: Romance/Historical FictionPages: 313 Book Description:England 1862 – When Gabriel St. Lawrence met Lady Serena Lloyd, she treated him with disdain and the usually charming Gabriel responded in kind with hurtful insults. And then, the Lady disappeared. But Gabriel could not stop thinking of the captivating beauty, hoping to one day find her. Now three years later, he has purchased a theatre purported to be haunted. But the ‘haunting spirit’ is a very real woman searching for a murderer…the very woman with whom he had reluctantly fallen in love...Serena. But is she the only haunting spirit afoot? I received this book as an ARC in exchange for an honest review. This is my third book in the series and I once again really enjoyed reading it. It had a little different tone in the sense that the ghost in this story was not an astral projection of someone, but a true ghost! I like that the book started out with you trying to figure out who would be trying to kill Serena and see that she is saved from the ghost. So right away you are thrown into this mystery [...]

14 04, 2020

A Murderous Relation (Veronica Speedwell #5)

A Murderous Relation (Veronica Speedwell #5)

Rachel2020-04-14T17:58:28-06:00April 14th, 2020|Tags: ARC, historical fiction|0 Comments

Published: 3/10/2020Genre: Historical FictionPages: 320 Book Description: Veronica Speedwell and her natural historian colleague Stoker are asked by Lady Wellingtonia Beauclerk to help with a potential scandal so explosive it threatens to rock the monarchy. Prince Albert Victor is a regular visitor to the most exclusive private club in London, known as the Club de l'Etoile, and the proprietess, Madame Aurore, has received an expensive gift that can be traced back to the prince. Lady Wellie would like Veronica and Stoker to retrieve the jewel from the club before scandal can break. Worse yet, London is gripped by hysteria in the autumn of 1888, terrorized by what would become the most notorious and elusive serial killer in history, Jack the Ripper--and Lady Wellie suspects the prince may be responsible. Veronica and Stoker reluctantly agree to go undercover at Madame Aurore's high class brothel, where another body soon turns up. Many secrets are swirling around Veronica and the royal family--and it's up to Veronica and Stoker to find the truth, before it's too late for all of them. I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest [...]

7 11, 2019

Hypnotic Love (Paranormal Historical #2)

Hypnotic Love (Paranormal Historical #2)

Rachel2019-11-07T19:14:04-07:00November 7th, 2019|Tags: historical fiction, romance|0 Comments

Genre: Romance/Historical FictionPages: 305Published: February 2013 Book Description: England 1861 – The rakishly charming Charles Phillips, Viscount Chesterholt, is repeatedly surprised by a female nightly visitor who roams his country estate seemingly in search of something. She appears entranced. Is she real or ethereal? What is she seeking? In searching for answers, Charles enters a realm of mystery, deceit, and murder to discover who this woman is and why she ‘haunts’ him. I received this book in exchange for an honest review. Another fun read in this Paranormal Historical series by Patricia Catacalos. This is my second one of hers I have gotten to read and I am glad that I got to continue on with this series! I think these are a fun, unique idea and love how these are each there own story, but are still slightly entwined. Charles is the cousin of Portia who was featured in the first book. Charles experience is slightly different than his cousins in that he is being visited by someone he doesn't know. He first has to figure out who this Lady is that's appearing in his house, searching for something, is. [...]

7 09, 2019

Romanov

Romanov

Rachel2019-09-07T20:29:00-06:00September 7th, 2019|Tags: ARC, edelweiss, Fantasy, historical fiction, young adult|0 Comments

Genre: Fantasy/Historical FictionPages: 337Published: May 7, 2019 Book Description: The history books say I died. They don’t know the half of it. Anastasia “Nastya” Romanov was given a single mission: to smuggle an ancient spell into her suitcase on her way to exile in Siberia. It might be her family’s only salvation. But the leader of the Bolshevik army is after them, and he’s hunted Romanov before. Nastya’s only chances of saving herself and her family are to either release the spell and deal with the consequences, or enlist help from Zash, the handsome soldier who doesn’t act like the average Bolshevik. Nastya has only dabbled in magic, but it doesn’t frighten her half as much as her growing attraction to Zash. She likes him. She thinks he might even like her. That is, until she’s on one side of a firing squad . . . and he’s on the other. I received this book as an ARC from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. I have always liked the story of Anastasia and when I read the description of this book I was intrigued to see what kind of retelling [...]

7 07, 2019

The Hummingbird Dagger

The Hummingbird Dagger

Rachel2019-07-07T21:08:08-06:00July 7th, 2019|Tags: ARC, historical fiction, mystery, netgalley|0 Comments

Genre: Historical Fiction/MysteryPages: 352Published: April 16, 2019 Book Description: 1833. After young Lord James Ellerby witnesses a near-fatal carriage accident on the outskirts of his estate, he doesn't think twice about bringing the young woman injured in the wreck to his family's manor to recuperate. But then she finally regains consciousness only to find that she has no memory of who she is or where she belongs.Beth, as she takes to calling herself, is an enigma even to herself. She has the rough hands of a servant, but the bearing and apparent education of a lady. Her only clue to her identity is a gruesome recurring nightmare about a hummingbird dripping blood from its steel beak.With the help of James and his sister, Caroline, Beth slowly begins to unravel the mystery behind her identity and the sinister circumstances that brought her to their door. But the dangerous secrets they discover in doing so could have deadly ramifications reaching the highest tiers of London society. I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. When I read the description of this book I thought oh how [...]